The Blake Job
by TrivialQueen
Summary: For an honest man Nathan Ford knew a lot of freaks, geeks, and grifters. Nathan/Sophie, Parker/Hardison, Eliot...
1. Blink

The Blake Job

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**Summary:** For an honest man Nathan Ford knew a lot of freaks, geeks, and grifters.  
**Parings:** Nate/ Sophie, Hardison/ Parker, Eliot...  
**Disclaimer:** I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

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Chapter One: Blink

"_You killed him, didn't you." It wasn't a question. Nathan Ford didn't take his eyes off of the boy in the white bed._

"_As Sophie said, 'It's called plausible deniability Nate'." The reply was made as the speaker also watched the child being examined in the small room. The conversation was held shoulder to shoulder with parallel gazes. The gazes rested upon Sam Ford. The familiar stranger handed the father a check, it was the only time the vigil was disturbed. Nathan looked at the check and then the person who handed it to him._

"_This is his insurance policy." Holly Blake had killed her father, there was no evidence but Ford knew, in all likelihood if Sam was well Ford would be looking into the death as an insurance investigator. Ms. Blake would be doing time for homicide as well as fraud – in case the twenty five to life wasn't enough. But Sam was sick, and nothing else really mattered. Holly didn't look at him._

"_It's for Sam." She said. The 'honest man' in Nathan reared his head, he had no proof but this woman, however young of one, was a murderess._

"_I cannot take money from such a personal loss." His words dripped sarcasm onto the sterile hospital floor. A slight twitch flexed Holly's heart shaped jaw. She pressed a slim hand to the glass window in the hospital door, as if she was touching Sam's fevered forehead with her always cold hands._

"_Nathan," she said with quiet intensity, "I don't want his money." Ford wouldn't be so cliché as to ask 'What do you want?'; she needed no prompt. "I just want my childhood back." Time, the only nonrenewable resource. She was never going to be a child again, that time was lost. But Sam as still a child, Sam still had time. Her check insured Sam a little more time. Holly pulled her hand from the glass as the doctors turned to exit. Ford and Blake cleared the way._

"_You may see him now." One said nodding to Nathan. Nathan nodded to Holly who met his blue eyes fro the first time that night. She entered the room quietly, trying to get her smile to reach her grey eyes._

"_Blink!" The boy exclaimed, sending more than one machine into a fit of blinks, blips, and buzzes._

"_Hi Bud." Holly said calmly, taking a seat by the boy's bed. She sat with him for five minutes, not long enough to tire him, but still long enough to chat. Nathan watched the interaction between the two, his son and the murder, her check heavy in his hand._

_Holly deliberately left a full lipstick kiss on Sam's cheek as she said good bye. Her farewell to Nathan was more subdued. They embraced and then he watched her walk away before spending the remaining time with his son._

Holly Blake had a photographic memory; she remembered everything about her good bye to Sam Ford. The Windy City lived up to its name; a gust struck her as she stood before the headstone.

"Hi Bud." She whispered in the lull of the wind. A tear worked down her cheek. This was the first day she met Sam, lo those many years ago.

"_Sam," Mr. Ford said to his son, "This is Ms. Blake; she's going to play chess with you."_

"_Hi Miss Blink!" The little boy exclaimed excited. "I like chess." Holly smiled._

"_I like chess too."_

"_Be good for Miss __Blake__." Mr. Ford said, enunciating clearly._

"_Blink." The boy said, Holly shrugged at the father, she didn't mind. And Blink she'd forever be – at least to the Ford Family._

"I miss playing chess with you, no one plays quite like you." She said.

"Have you ever played chess with me before?" a voice asked. Holly didn't jump at the intrusion, nor did she need to look up to know who the intruder was. She had heard his soft footfall and felt the change in the wind brought by the presence of another person.

"Chess like Sam and I played or chess as a euphemism for something else?" She replied. Nathan Ford was once again shoulder to shoulder with her. Recent stories in the paper… "You quit being an insurance investigator White Knight."

"I insure other things now." He said.

"Black King." Holly shook her head, auburn curls playing across his bicep thanks to a near foot of height difference. "You are too good to be the Black King. To some you will always be a white knight. It makes you more of a grey man."

"Morality is grey." Nathan replied. Holly looked up at him, her grey eyes twinkling from behind black framed glasses. She smiled.

"Kohlberg's moral development. Stage Six."

"Most people remain in Stage Four." She was a smart girl and it wasn't because of her three PhDs.

"How very enlightened of you." She replied. Nathan extended his hand, black leather glove protecting it from the Chicago winter.

"Join me." He said. Holly's gaze ran over him, taking in more than he could ever know. She slipped her small hand in his for a firm shake. Her grey cotton sixteen button gloves against the black leather symbolic in many ways.

***

"Blink" Nathan said producing a young woman from behind him. "This is the team. Team this is Blink." The group paused to look at what Nathan had brought in. She, Blink, was almost a foot shorter than Ford. Her hair was curly and framed her face; she had big grey eyes that observed each person before her in turn from behind black framed glasses. There was a moment of silence.

"Hi." She finally said, waving a little, her nails were long and painted black. Her smile was clean and straight and white – just like a picket fence. The group, two men and a woman, came closer to examine the intruder in their midst. Eliot Spencer looked at Nathan.

"Is she even old enough to drink?" Nathan smiled.

"What is she even here for?" Parker asked. The smile morphed into an enigmatic smirk. Blink looked first at Eliot.

"Your supraorbital ridge denotes Native American decent – Hidatsa at a guess. Your accent says a Dallas youth, but there are overtones of Kentucky in your phrasing. You're wearing contacts." She coked her head as she spoke, her smile and voice light. She then turned to Parker.

"Your left hand has been broken three times, only once by your own doing. You have deliberately over stretched your ligaments. Your right shoulder slides out of the socket. Your lower back hurts." Pause. "You have focus issues but are actually quite smart." She wasn't even looking at Hardison. "You can't fight but you can talk circles around anyone. Humor is your defense." Nathan began to clap, cutting off further observations.

"This," Ford said, amused. "This is why she's here." _Holly Blake. Three PhDs, a photographic memory. She can simultaneously write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other. She's _The Observer.

"Holly Blake." She said. "Call me Blink." The team stared at her. Eliot rubbed his brow bone, Parker flexed her hand, and Alec had to pick his jaw up off the floor.

"Blink, this is Eliot Spencer, Parker, and Alec Hardison." Nathan formally introduced them. A brunette woman appeared in the background. "And this is-"

"Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Ruprecht, exiled ruler of Ginovia." Blink cut him off, the woman stopped and turned, a smile parting her full lips.

"Holly." She said briskly walking across the room to greet the familiar new comer with open arms. The women embraced, kissing one another's cheeks. Right, left, right.

"How do you know these people?!" Parker exclaimed throwing a hand in the air. First Sophie and now this girl? For an honest man Nathan Ford knew a lot of freaks, geeks, and grifters.

"I met Nathan when I ran away from school the first time – I wound up in a Brothel on the Rivera and met the Princess through a client. She was raising money to reclaim her throne, I was trying to make ends meet, and Mr. Ford was trying to save the world – as usual." Holly – Blink shrugged the tale off as common. The staring resumed.

"So," She said breaking the awkward silence. "What's the word?" From his position casually leaning on the wall Nathan laughed.

"Hardison was about to brief us." A moment. "Weren't you, Hardison? Hardison!" Alec Hardison snapped back into focus.

"Briefing – yeah, right – gottcha." He made a gesture showing he was (finally) on Nathan's wave length.

Alec, Eliot, and Parker headed for the boardroom, leaving the new girl, Sophie, and Nathan to follow. Parker rubbed her lower back as they walked, she'd be damned, but it did hurt. Eliot noticed the discrete action.

"You want some Tylenol or something?" he asked nodding to her hand rubbing above her belt line.

"Shut up four eyes." She snapped. Alec laughed.

"I saw your show last night." Holly said walking beside Sophie about three paces in front of Nathan.

"Oh, really? Why didn't you come back stage and say hello?" Sophie asked, her brown eyes glittering. She knew her true calling was not the stage, but she enjoyed acting.

"I did, but the stage manager said you'd gone to dinner already. I have an orchid for you in my hotel room." Holly's eyes flitted between Nathan and Sophie. "How was dinner?" There were no secrets from Holly Blake. But that didn't prevent people from trying to keep them. Sophie licked her upper lip.

"Lovely." She replied, nerves under her voice. "What did you think of the show?" She asked too quickly to be casual. Holly could have said many things but she chose to say only one,

"Your accent was Sevillan, not Aragonese." Nathan and Sophie looked at each other. Only Holly Blake would choose to comment on _that_ particular aspect of Miss Devereaux portrayal of Katherine of Aragon in Shakespeare's The Life of King Henry the Eighth.


	2. The Red Herring

The Blake Job

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Disclaimer: I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

* * *

Chapter Two: The Red Herring

Nathan held the door for Sophie and Holly, Parker and Eliot were already seated. Hardison stood before his six plasma screens, the master of his domain.

"We'll be down a briefing." Hardison said as Nathan held out a chair for Sophie. "I was about to print one off."

"Don't bother." Holly said reaching over Nathan, now seated, and taking the folder from his hand. "Yoink." She said.

"Hey." Nathan turned to look at her. Seeing that she was reading he looked at his watch. Almost as quickly as she had stolen it Blink returned the file to Nathan's waiting hand. She took a seat on the conference table, ignoring the open chair beside her.

"Three seconds." Nathan said opening the file himself.

"You sure – seems a little long." She replied. Parker and Eliot both slowly turned their chairs to look at her. Hardison shook his head in disbelief, jaw slightly slack. Holly paid no attention to her companions. She jumped right in,

"Did this guy ever question why a firm as prestigious as Mawson and Williams would hire him sight unseen – or does he really think he's that awesome?" a beat. "Why didn't he go in and talk to these people – why did he agree to all this sight unseen? And then why'd he assume the headhunter would take care of the resignation – which by the way does this headhunter have a name or did he just go by Mr. Hunter? Mr. Head? Anyway, why didn't this guy write the company himself – what ever happened to common courtesy and proper business etiquette?" she was rolling. "And another thing –" Hardison put his hands out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sonic, slow up – some of us didn't read the brief in three seconds. _Three seconds?!_ There were a thousand words there!"

"And several grammatical errors." Holly added. Again looks.

"Whatever." Hardison said throwing his hand up. "Some of us aren't Rain Man, for them I have a lovely presentation, It's got stuff for the audio/ visual learners – why don't we let everybody else catch up, eh, Raymond?"

"Is this because I said your bark was worse than your bite?"

"Blink," Nathan said laughing a little, "The man is very proud of his Power Points, let him work."

"Pfui." Holly huffed, leaning back, slim fingers curling around the edge of the oak conference table.

"Thank you." Hardison said nodding to Nathan. "Alright Sports Fans." He began rubbing his hands together. "What we have here is something completely different," Holly snorted a little at the incidental Monty Python reference. Hardison sent her a look, but ultimately ignored her. "Our client's in jail. The Mawson and Williams Job – they're claming he's the guy." A picture of a young clean cut blond man popped up on the many plasma screens, followed by the same man's mug shot. "He says he didn't do it." Soft laughter from the peanut gallery. "I know right? Anyway John Pycroft, that's his name, anyway he says he didn't do it, he says he was planning on taking the job M&W offered him but a headhunter offered to double his salary as well as advance him $5,000 if he worked for this other company – Conan Doyle Hardware, they were apparently an online start up that was set to go public soon and make a killing – didn't matter he didn't know a thing about hardware, they wanted his 'mad number skills'. He says he went to work for this hardware company, which doesn't exist. Anyway the headhunter told him not to send notice to Mawson and Williams – he'd take care of it. Pycroft doesn't, goes to work for this Henry Philips, CEO of the Hardware Company. Pycroft works here a week, and realizes the entire office is stupid, he quits and plans on calling Mawson and Williams to beg for his job back when he's arrested for ripping the firm off for millions. He has no idea who set him up. So," Hardison paused. "How do we run game on whoever set this guy up when we don't have a mark?" Parker and Eliot looked at each other and shrugged. Nathan and Sophie looked at Holly. She sat up.

"Give me and hour and unlimited computer access and I'll get you a mark." She said before hopping off the table. Nathan stood up.

"You can use my office." He said moving to escort her. She held up a hand.

"Sit, scheme, I can find my way." She turned and started her exit, before she was completely out the door, Nathan add,

"Hardison'll help you with the computer stuff."

"Aw, come'on man." The tech guy whined. Nathan's smirk said; _suck it up hacker._

"Okay, seriously," Parker said, "Where did you find her?" Nathan looked at Sophie.

_Beaumont – sur – Mer, 6 Years Ago_

"_Nate!" Sophie's scream rang down the hall and turned Nathan's brisk walk into a job. This was the problem with con artists, not only did they steel things, but they got into danger. He was so focused on the trouble Sophie was in that he ran smack into someone, throwing them to the ground._

"_Excusez-moi." He said looking down at the person. _Good Lord!_ He'd run into a girl, a young girl, in only a white lacy push up bra and plaid mini skirt._

"_Nate!" Sophie called again, coming out into the hall. The girl looked from him to Sophie, to him and tried to run. Nate caught her around the waist, she struggled, but in four inch Mary Jane heels she was unsteady. Eventually Nathan threw her over his shoulder fireman style and carried her to Sophie's room. Her fists pummeled his back as she swore a blue streak in several languages._

_Sophie shut the door to her suite and Nathan dumped the girl on the sofa. A banning interrupted his first question. Nate turned, Sophie had a chair propped under the handles of the French Doors separating the bedroom from the living room. An elderly man Nathan recognized as Sophie's mark was trying to both dress and break free. Nathan looked at the man, then at the girl, and then at Sophie who was just as disturbed as he was. Nathan looked back at the girl._

"_How old are you?" He asked in French._

"_Twenty Three." She replied, if that was true he'd eat Sophie's 'Crown Jewels'._

"_Try again." Nathan said, Sophie stepped to his side, wrap in hand._

"_We don't want to give you any trouble." She said handing the girl the covering. "How old are you?" The girl covered herself and Nathan finally looked at her full on, the shirtless motif making him feel like a dirty old man. The girl closed her large moon grey eyes and lowered her chin._

"_Je suis quinze." She said. Nathan and Sophie looked first at each other, then at the mark in horror._

_Fifteen?!_

"Hardison?" Holly interrupted, "Can you get me into the state's case on Pycroft?" the hacker smirked.

"Is the cake a lie?" Holly smiled, Nathan and Sophie looked at each other _is the cake a lie_? Sophie mouthed. They shrugged.

"_Fifteen?!" Sophie exclaimed in English._

"_Yes, fifteen." The girl replied, also in English._

"_What are you doing?" Nathan asked, "Shouldn't you be in school?"_

"_I'm through with school." She replied._

"_You can't-"_

"_I've graduate from college, already. My _father_." She spat the word. "Wants me to go to grad school, he's making me go to grad school. I'm so tired of school." She slumped back into the sofa. "I'm so tired of my _father_ running my life." Again she bite into the word 'father'._

"_So you ran away." Sophie said sitting beside the girl._

"_Got on a plane and ici je suis." She said waiving a hand. "The first place that didn't turn me down was a Brothel, I said I'd pay the madam later, I was planning on just getting somebody's credit card number and buying her something nice. She said, 'Non, vous gagnez de l'argent maintenant'." No, you earn money now. "And hands me this skirt. Ici je suis."_

"_And this guy picked you up?" Nathan asked, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the caged John._

"_The school girl look was a little easier for me to do than the other girls."_

"_So you became a prostitute?!" Sophie exclaimed._

"Okay," Hardison said reentering the room. "How old is Raymond?"

"You mean Blink?" Nathan asked.

"Whatever that human computer's name is – does she have a belly button, because that girl is not natural." The group laughed.

"She'll be twenty one the end of December." Sophie said once the chortle finished, she then turned to Nathan.

"I can't believe you for-got her birthday."

"I did not!" Nathan replied defensively, Sophie leveled a look at him, eyebrow raised. "Has it really been six years?" he asked, artfully dodging her accusation.

"Six years and she's twenty one?" Eliot repeated, doing the math in his head. "What was she doing at fifteen that she'd meet you two?"

"She ran away from home and became a prostitute." Sophie said.

"A prostitute?" Hardison, Eliot, and Parker exclaimed as Holly popped into the room again. Everyone looked at her.

"That story?" she asked looking between Nathan and Sophie. "One of my favorites." She paused, "Alright, Leet Sauce, need you again." She crooked her finger at Hardison; he walked past her through the door giving her a look. Holly smiled up at him and wiggled her fingers. She then turned back to the group.

"You get to the part where you sent me home?"

"_Look, I'll go back to the States, I'll take a vow of chastity, just don't make me go back to __him__." Young Holly Blake pleaded; it was two days since she'd run into Nathan Ford in nothing but her bra and a skirt. In those two days Holly's first and only John had been arrested for pedophilia as well as insurance fraud._

"_He is your father, Holly; he's probably worried sick about you." Sophie Devereaux said, she was standing beside Nathan. Holly's John had also been Sophie's mark, the web of associations created the current scene._

"_He's probably only worried that I'll come home dumb." Holly huffed, "Then he won't get to go on Oprah and talk about how smart his kid is." Nathan and Sophie didn't particularly want to send the girl back, but she was still very much a minor, there was nothing they could do. Nathan turned Sophie's scam and planted it on her mark because the guy was that much of a creep; he wished there was something he could do to get holly out of the situation she was in, but there wasn't. He sighed, Sophie took his arm, he felt her sigh as well. _

_Le vol 257 à New York montant maintenant. Le vol 257 à New York montant maintenant__._

_They were in le Aéroport __Nice__ Côte d'Azur and her flight was boarding, the jig was really up._

"_That's you." Nathan said solemnly._

"_Je sais." She snapped, her French was much better than his. Nathan held out a card._

"_You should go then." He replied. "These are my numbers," she took the card. "If you ever need anything don't hesitate to call." She handed the card back to him._

"_Thank you." She said. "I will."_

"_Aren't you going to…?" Nathan began._

"_Don't worry, Mr. Ford." She said tapping her left temple, "I've got them." Mouths slightly open Nathan and Sophie watched her turn and slowly walk away._

_

* * *

Excusez-moi_: Excuse me.  
_Je suis quinze: _I am fifteen.  
_Ici je suis:_ Here I am.  
_Non, vous gagnez de l'argent maintenant:_ No, you earn money now.  
_Le vol 257 à New York montant maintenant. Le vol 257 à New York montant maintenant_: Flight 257 to New York now boarding, Flight 257 to New York now boarding  
_Je sais: _I know

All French was learned through a free online translator, take it as you will.


	3. Meet Gloria Scott

The Blake Job

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Disclaimer: I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

* * *

Chapter Three: Meet Gloria Scott

Fifty five minutes later Holly reentered the conference room.

"Success?" Nathan asked, Holly shook her head.

"Nope, my powers of deduction were thwarted by a couple of white collar bozos." She smiled. "Almost too easy." Hardison pulled up a second presentation. "And I've gotta say I'm in aw of this Haxxor's skillz." She grinned and gave him a head bob. Hardison reciprocated. "I had enough time to make a Power Point of my own." A sever looking blonde appeared on the screens. "Melissa Coxon, ten of the last twelve of the firms she's helped merge have had something like the M&W Job happen to them. She's the first 'mark'." A blonde man who bore a very vague resemblance to Pycroft replaced Coxon. "Jack Calhoun or as Mawson and Williams knows him, John Pycroft." A third man came on the screen, he was a burly brunette. "And finally our headhunter Kurt Snook." She smiled at the group. "Wanna know how they did it?"

"I'd rather know how you did it." Eliot said. "How'd you get this figured out in an hour? With names and photos and stuff."

"Like I said deduction and this BA Techie over here. His algorithm saved me so much time I could get on Facebook." Hardison shot Eliot a smug look.

"Someone thinks I'm BA." He snarked.

"She thinks your algawhatever is BA." Eliot snarked back.

"Yeah," Parker chimed in, always ready to take a shot at one of her teammates. "She knows you're all talk – remember."

"Children." Nathan broke in before Hardison could make another flip comment. The bickering thieves fell silent. Nathan nodded to Holly, "Go on."

"Okay, with the help of Leet Sauce over there I cross-referenced the employees of Mawson and Williams with other embezzlement jobs. Coxon showed up ten times. She's an architect, when two companies/ banks/ firms merge they call her to help with the transition. Under the CEOs she has nearly unlimited power while she is there – including the power to create and fill positions." Holly paused. "I found Calhoun and Snook by looking at her phone records, they were two of the three frequently called numbers. How the game works is – she sets up a Trojan horse position; with no one checking what she's doing she gives the job unprecedented clearance and access. She then looks around and hires a broker or the like, she doesn't meet with them, they don't meet with her. She 'hires' them, but before they can claim their position a 'headhunter' comes and appeals to their greed, enticing them away from the first job. For just five thousand down these people have a million and a new identity. Did a little checking and both Snook and Calhoun have the tech skills to write the code they used. The fake hiree goes in, writes the code, skims off the top and is done. The cops go to the real person's house – it's their word against the company's. The real person goes to jail. LS hacked the Pycroft case and all the evidence is he said, he said and no alibi." Holly smiled, Parker and Eliot were impressed. Nathan had a question.

"Who's the other number – you said there were three common numbers. None of which I'm assuming are her mother." Holly nodded, proud of the catch.

"Poor woman, no Coxon barely calls her mother at all. Gold star Nathan." Holly gave him the thumbs up sign with a slight arm pump. "This job is different from the other ones in two ways. One, Pycroft's trial is postponed. As I'm sure you're all well aware, time is of the essence in deals like this. With a little push, a little plus the state might actually pull its head out of its ass. A long shot, I know but the threat is there. The other difference is the third most frequently called number. Mr. Rodney Richard Mawson – Bossman. Now, I'd need to see their outercourse to determine their intercourse, but I'd put good odds on them doin' it."

"Good odds? How good?" Nathan asked leaning back in his chair.

"Ten to one on."

"Ten to one?" Nathan scoffed. "Try three to two."

"Ten to one she's shtooping the boss and taking him and his company for all their worth. You doubt me?"

"Twenty bucks?" He wagered holding up an Andrew Jackson.

"Twenty bucks." She reached across the table and shook his hand. Nathan turned to the assembly.

"Okay, here's the plan."

***

"Didn't I say next time I wear the suit? Didn't I?" Eliot complained, pretending to offer a trey of Champagne to Nathan. He was in black slacks and shoes, a white shirt and black bow tie, his hair in a low ponytail. Nathan smiled; he was in a classic tuxedo.

"You did, in Belgrade, remember. You also got to hit on a beautiful woman-"

"Evil." Eliot threw in.

"A beautiful, evil woman so stop complaining." Eliot glared at his boss, who simply raised his fresh Champagne flute in a toast.

"I don't know why I'm here." Holly picked up where Eliot left off.

"You said you needed to view Mawson and Coxon's outercourse to determine their intercourse." Nathan replied evenly. "What's more omnipresent than a waitress?" Holly huffed.

"I needed five minutes – less really. Nathan, its Puccini tonight." She whined. "You know how much I love _La Boheme_." Nathan knew. Holly never did call him, but a year later their paths crossed again.

_A very familiar girl entered his office with a very unpleasant looking man. Nathan stared at the girl in the same way the Federal Agents watched without watching. It was Holly._

"_What can I do for you Mr. Blake?" Nathan asked, betraying nothing._

"_I'd like to get my daughter's brain insured." _

This intersection of lives allowed Nathan to see why Holly ran away. And when Daniel Blake died in a 'car accident' three years later it kept him from mourning too much.

Nathan had taken Holly into a conference room and introduced her to Sam when her father had brought her in. They had played chess while Nathan explained to Daniel that IYS couldn't insure a brain. Daniel likened his child – his only child, to a pedigree of some sort or a racehorse, something that performed. It was clear why she left, it was justified when she killed him.

Sam and Holly hit it off right away, even though they only met twice; that day and the day she gave Nate the check from her father's life insurance policy. They kept in touch though. Holly sent Sam a story every month. A story about the White Knight, the Black King, and the Scarlet Queen – a figure that resembled Sophie far too much. The stories were moral, but high order morality, his and Sam's first brushes with Kohlberg's Stage Six.

Holly also wrote him, with each story for Sam there was a letter for Nathan. She wrote prolifically about her life, desperate for someone to see her as more than a mind.

"I hate stupid people. They should all go die in a hole." Holly's grouse brought Nathan out of his memories. She had no patience for 'buffoons'.

"Ya know," Hardison said. He and Parker were in Mawson and Williams collecting software as well as installing some of Hardison's own. "You can lead a whore to culture but you can't make her think." As soon as he said it there was a pause, if they were all in the same room five pairs of eyes would've turned to look at Holly. The idea of her being a fifteen year old prostitute still blowing some of their minds.

"Speaking as a former whore." Holly began. Nathan could hear her stance in her voice; her left hip was checked out, elbow resting on it, her wrist limp as she gestured. "I find that play on words extremely… accurate." She smiled after making them sweat.

"Ready or not," Sophie huskily said in their ears, "here I come." Gloria Scott was about to meet her mark.

"Nice jewels." Nathan commented once he found his voice, her appearance had rendered him momentarily speechless.

She was wearing a square neck sleeveless sheath with a slight train; it hugged each of her sensual curves. The dress was black and designed to showcase both the incredible figure wearing it, as well as her dazzling necklace. It was diamond and white gold that fit around her slim neck, off of the collar rained good sized pear shaped diamonds. It filled her décolletage. Opera gloves, also black, and a simple French twist finished her look.

"Thanks." Sophie smiled warmly at Nathan. "Seeing Holly reminded me I still have this." She gestured to her necklace, the 'Crown Jewels of Ginovia'. In the background Holly watched the interplay and smiled. Mawson and Coxon weren't the only two whose outercourse revealed an intercourse.

***

"Your dress is absolutely fabulous." Sophie said to Melissa Coxon, a touch of the Isles in her British accent. The dress, an overworked sack in a vile yellow, wasn't anything but haute couture parody, but a compliment was always a great way in. Coxon who had been chatting with Mawson turned to her. Sophie was in.

"Thank you," she cooed; sounding like a preening peacock on crack, she then got a good look at Sophie's jewels. Her tone changed. She was bested. "Oh my God. That's a stunning necklace." Statement jewelry didn't just say something, it make others speak as well.

"Where on earth did you get such a piece?" Roderick Mawson asked, more interested in Sophie's cleavage than the gems above it.

"It was a thank you present from a client." Sophie said Coxon stared at her with catty blue eyes. _She probably thinks you're a prostitute_. Holly said in the earpiece. _You'd be used to that._ Parker replied.

"Client?" Coxon asked, her tone proving Holly right. "Client? Was he the King of England – that's quite a necklace."

"Crown Prince of Ginovia, actually." Sophie replied smugly.

"Really?" _She feels threatened._ Holly observed.

"Mhum." Sophie nodded, smiling at Holly's news. "I did some PR work for him about six years ago. There was this woman in France claiming she was an exiled princess and the true ruler of Ginovia, she was raising money to fight a revolution. In actuality she was simply swindling old men out of thousands of dollars. It was a real mess. She was _very_ good." Nathan snorted, Holly smirked, and the other three thieves chalked it up to 'times not spoken of'.

"I never heard anything about that." Coxon snipped.

"Exactly." Sophie said as if Melissa made her point. "I made it disappear, which is why Prince Rodolpho gave me this item from the family's collection." Mawson ripped his lascivious gaze from Sophie's hips when she said she had made the scandal disappear – he took the bait.

"Excuse me," he said, "but you said you made the scandal disappear?" Sophie nodded. "I'm Rod Mawson and this is Melissa Coxon, we're with Mawson and Williams." He extended a fat hand to Sophie, she shook it.

"I'm Gloria Scott, Image Consultant."

"Sounds to me like you're more of a PR Goddess." Mawson replied smiling slickly.

"Rodolpho called me that once. But really I am anything you want me to be." Sophie purred. The look Mawson gave her set Nathan's teeth on edge. Coxon became even more threatened, her attitude agitated. _Oooo she does __not__ like you. _Holly laughed. _But Bossman certainly does._ Eliot added. Nathan's tight jaw began to grind. Mawson was not just undressing Sophie with his eyes, he was banging her with them. Nathan didn't like it, he didn't like it one bit. He never had. She was constantly in situations that put her on a pedestal for lust. It was part of being a grifter. Before he didn't like it, but he was trying to put her in jail. She was the Scarlet Queen and he was the White Knight – the married White Knight. He couldn't – he shouldn't care. And now to care would be hypocritical and unjustifiably possessive. He had no claim to Sophie Devereaux, not a one. He was even the one how put her in the situations in which she had to flirt – the mark had to want her. And yet…

_Stop grinding your teeth Nate_. Holly hissed in his ear piece. _The thing works on bone vibrations – you're about to blow our ear drums out._ He hadn't even noticed he was doing it. Nathan forcibly unclenched his jaw. He'd been so tight it popped when he moved. He could just imagine the look on Blinks face; he then promptly tried to block it.

"Can you be in my office at eight?" Mawson asked; the grinding of Nate's teeth as well as the thieves' commentary almost stopped Sophie from processing Mawson's request. Almost. She was too good to be thrown off by conversations or the gnashing of teeth, no matter how much it made her heart flutter. Nathan was protective of her. She both loved and hated that feeling. It gave her hope that maybe things _could_ work between them. But it also irked her, she'd done quite well on her own, thanks, she didn't need a man going Neanderthal on her. Especially when his protective, possessiveness got him hurt. Seeing him shot in Juan almost killed her, and she almost killed him. His attitude towards her left her conflicted in her head, but in her heart she felt much more resolved. Deep down she felt cherished.

"I certainly can." Sophie said smiling sweetly, the chimes rang signifying that 'the house' was open. "I've been interested in your firm since I read the papers, I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles."

"Don't be." Mawson said handing her his card. "You'll be fixing them." He smiled. "Pleasure to meet you Ms. Scott."

"See you at eight." Sophie replied before Melissa dragged Mawson away. Sophie watched them go feeling accomplished, card in her hand.

Phase One: Done.


	4. Tech Support

The Blake Job

* * *

Disclaimer: I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

* * *

Chapter Four: Tech Support

"That skirt office appropriate?" Nathan asked incredulously as his gaze went up one toned leg and down the other. Sophie's eyes met his when they finally departed from her shapely calves.

"For this office," she replied arching a brow at him, "it seems just fine." She tilted her head, smiled, and turned – leaving him dazed. It was Monday; Ms. Gloria Scott was expected in Mawson's office at eight. She was a seductress, that Miss Scott; Sophie needed to play Mawson from Coxon, insuring her fall. Sophie was doing a fine job already. Holly came and stood beside Nathan, looking up at him until he snapped out of his 'moment' and looked down at her.

"Don't – don't look at me in that tone of voice." he snapped flustered, he ran a hand through his hair and stalked into his office. Holly watched him go, smirk growing on her full lips.

At exactly eight am Gloria Scott breezed into Mawson and Williams, her skirt and her head held high.

"Miss Scott," Mawson boomed, quite happy to see her, "So glad you agreed to meet with us." Sophie smiled and shook his hand.

"Gloria, please, Mr. Mawson." She purred, his eyes darkened a shade, her smile broadened.

"Gloria," repeated making the name sound cheap and greasy. "Call me Rod." He gave her a smile. "You remember Melissa Coxon, don't you?' The women shook hands; Coxon was as severe and happy to see Sophie as ever. Her blue eyes flashed, the wrinkle lifting bun making the expression fierce. She was striking, but all angles. She wore an unflattering pants suit she must've mistaken for conservative. Sophie was a contrast in her black lace mini, flattering sage jacket, and curvaceous body. Her green and tope stiletto Mary Janes were just the topper on the 'New Babe in Town' cake. Melissa Coxon had been complacent with her affair, but no more.

***

"You ready Leet Sauce?" Holly asked Hardison as she pulled her cloche hat down around her ears, it matched the green scarf at her throat protecting her from the witch of November. Alec adjusted his tie.

"Why are you going again?" He asked her, she had picked out the noose that he was wearing and he greatly resented it. The tie was two shades of grey; it blended into his plain white shirt, black slacks, and dark skin. He was a ghost.

"_You're supposed to be invisible; you're just a Tech Guy."_

"_Just a Tech Guy, do you know how much of the world we live in would be down around ya'lls ears if it wasn't for us invisible just a tech guys?" Hardison snapped._

"_Hey, hey, hey, I completely understand – Nerd Power," She put a fist in the air. "I actually did one of my lesser research papers on the term 'Nerd'; did you know the first documented use of the word was in Dr. Suess's __If I Ran the Zoo__? Gerald McGrew wanted a 'Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too' -" _

"_Whoa, Raymond," He said cutting her off, "Stopped caring."_

"_Oh."_

"She's going so that she can observe, we need to know every tell." Nathan said authoritatively, he was in a bit of a mood since he saw Sophie in that skirt, Mawson's lecherous gaze a very fresh memory. It didn't help things any that Holly had moved everything in his office two inches to the left.

"She's also going as my cover – incase you need back up." Eliot added zipping up his leather jacket.

"Back up? Why would I need back up?" Hardison asked defensively.

"We don't know what these guys are going to do, even if you are in a public place." Eliot said, from behind Hardison Parker barked. Alec turned, eyes narrowed at the blonde thief who simply smiled and walked away, whistling.

"Raymond." He growled, turning back around.

"Lay off of Blink, Hardison." Nathan said holding his hands up between the two. "She didn't say anything we didn't already know." He smirked, Hardison growled again, only adding to the Bark, no Bite image.

***

Latte Da was a locally owned coffee shop with exposed brick walls and local music nights, it was popular enough to be safe, but not enough to be crowded. Hardison found himself a table in the middle of the room. He ordered himself a coffee and opened In the Best of Families a Nero Wolfe Mystery. He wasn't Hardison, but Jeremy Holmes, IT guy for Mawson and Williams. He had back - hacked the embezzlement worm and identified the computer it originated on – not John Pycroft's. He'd sent them a message saying 'let me in or else.' Snook and Calhoun were meeting him to discuss at nine in Latte Da. Look for the tall guy reading Rex Stout. It was all part of the plan.

Eliot and Holly were unnoticeable in the café, the clientele primarily students or couples. They took the booth directly to the left of Hardison, the best vantage point. Nathan watched live feed from the security cameras of both Latte Da and Mawson and Williams. Parker was in her office doing whatever it was she did when she wasn't working for him or stealing for herself.

"Okay, it's no fun when you fill in all the answers." Eliot complained quietly as he watched Holly fill in 6 Across, 3 Down, 10 Down, and 9 Across of the New York Times crossword. He had his arm across the back of the booth facilitating his view of the puzzle and the appearance of romance; it also gave him a nice view of the cleavage Holly was unknowingly displaying through the V of her cream colored sweater. Nathan noted their position and smiled.

"Fine _Organ Thief _fourteen letters." Holly told him looking up as she chewed the end of her Navy Pilot Rolling Ball Pen. Grey met Blue. For not being a thief Holly Blake successfully took his breath away. _They're he-re_ Hardison chimed over their earpieces, breaking the moment. Holly's eyes dropped his like lightning. She filled in _Biblical Mountain_ SINAI. Eliot's gaze took longer, but eventually departed, shifting to the door. Two men had entered, both were scanning the room. He sipped his tea, observing the pair over the rim of his mug. One was slightly older than the other; he was hefty with messy raven curls and a bushy beard, like Santa's bad tempered bastard brother Phil. This was Kurt Snook. The younger one was more like Ricky Schroder circa _Scrubs_. He was taller than Phil, but half as wide. He looked a little like Pycroft. A little.

"Jeremy Holmes?" Schroder asked approaching Hardison. Alec looked up from his unread novel, Eliot sat up straighter. Holly placed a hand over his; slim fingers cold on the tense muscles. She whispered in his ear,

"Relax, you're sending up big red flags in their subconscious." Her coffee scented breath tickled his ear, the smell of her shampoo was about to send other big red flags up. He flexed his fingers and relaxed his posture looking back down at Holly and the puzzle. From under her lashes she watched him release tension, she smiled.

"Snook or Calhoun?" Hardison replied closing and setting aside the book, his actions slow and deliberate.

"I'm Jack Calhoun." Schroder said, "This is Kurt Snook. You wanted to talk to us?"

"Have a seat." Hardison said offering his hands palms up towards two chairs opposite him. Calhoun sat to Hardison's left, Snook his right. Holly filled in AVE for __ Maria_. Hardison sat in silent observation for a moment, staring them down. _Snook's nervous, clearly the submissive partner. _Holly observed from over the rim of her coffee mug. _Calhoun the thumb then?_ Nathan asked, not watching their feed. He was watching Mawson blatantly stare at Sophie's ass as she picked up the file she accidentally – on - purpose dropped. He was standing behind his chair too charged to sit, his knuckles white as he gripped the back of the seat.

_No_ Holly's voice said _Calhoun's cocky, overly confident in every endeavor – he'll take risks, but he takes orders as well. No the mastermind is Coxon, these boys are lackeys._ Nathan's eyes fixed on the leader, Melissa Coxon was grainy and shades of blue thanks to the security camera, but the picture didn't distort the contempt on her face. His eyes narrowed.

"You said you found us through a worm." Snook said folding his hands on the table, Calhoun was leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head, legs splayed. Hardison looked at them both before answering.

"I did. I'm IT for Mawson and Williams, the firm that just got taken for millions. I back - hacked the code used to sift the dough, the cha'ching lead right to you."

"Why didn't the Feds do that, why some nerd, huh? I think you're taking us for a ride." Calhoun snapped. _He thinks he's smart_ Holly commented filling in _The Boy from Tupelo_ ELVIS. _Patronize him; he'll get more pissed off._

"I don't know what the Feds are doing, I back – hacked the code for the same reason I'm not talking to the cops." Alec said slowly, smirking. "I've seen Office Space, hell I live Office Space, people ignoring me until the damn printer jams, assuming I speak Klingon just because I know how to connect to the server." He was still pissy about that, Eliot smirked slightly, a muscle near Holly's brow twitched. "I'm sick of it." Hardison continued. "I want in."

"In what? Inane? You're on crack." Calhoun spat.

"How very PC of you." Hardison dryly quipped sending him a look. "Now you can let me help you or I can help the Feds."

"This is blackmail!" Calhoun exclaimed pitching forward, Eliot sprang to his feet ready to rock and roll, his sudden motion attracted attention. Snook pulled Calhoun back.

"Ah!" Holly exclaimed, Eliot looked down – her caramel latte was now in her lap and across the table (magically not on the paper), she looked up at him. She had known it was a false alarm and was covering for him. _Napkins_ she mouthed. He walked to the counter like he meant to do that. Through the earpiece he heard Nate chuckle. _Coffee hot?_ He asked. _Lil' bit._ Holly squeaked.

Eliot returned with a wad of recycled paper cloth, he mopped up the table as Holly dabbed her stomach and legs. Once dry he got up and pitched the saddened rags. Hardison had things under control.

"What kind of help can you give us?" Snook asked smoothing ruffled feathers. Hardison leaned forward a little, dropping his voice for effect.

"I can make sure this never happens again." He said tapping his fingertip on the table betwixt them.

"Nice cover, thank you." Eliot said sitting back down, Holly was chewing on her pen again, staring at the last clue on the page.

"You owe me." She said.

"I'll get you a new sweater." He offered, remembering a snit fit Sophie had over coffee on cashmere. Holly looked up at him, short even seated.

"Screw the sweater; I just dumped a cup of very good coffee in my lap for you. You just don't treat coffee like that." She said, her eyes shining. Eliot looked at the final crossword clue. 5 Across; _Organ Thief (14)_. His eyes met Holly's again.

_Stole Your Heart._


	5. Black Knight's Tango

The Blake Job

* * *

Disclaimer: I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

* * *

Chapter Five: Black Knight's Tango

"Hardison, Report!" Nathan barked a few days later.

"Spent the last couple of days in their bat cave – not nearly as nice as ours, by the way, I have their every account number and every line of code. All their base are belongs to us." Holly twittered with an arpeggio of laughter. The group looked at her, Sophie and Eliot puzzled, Nathan amused, Parker annoyed, eyes narrowed.

"That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Raymond." Hardison said, air fiving the girl across the table.

"Whatever that means." Nathan muttered before continuing the briefing. "Sophie, what do you have?"

"I have a very old man looking down my blouse every chance he gets -"

"Excuse me; I am only six years older than you are." Nathan cut in defensively, crossing his arms over his chest and making a point of looking her in the eye.

"I was talking about Mawson, Nate." Sophie replied, Nathan's posture fell.

"Oh." He said embarrassedly. Silence, awkward, awkward, silence.

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked percussively after a beat, Holly's motion had attracted his embarrassed eye. Her hands were stacked palms down, right over left, her thumbs circling forward at a moderate pace. At his question her hands snapped to her sides.

"Me?" she asked overly coy, grey eyes flashing from side to side. "Nothing." Nathan stared for a full second before turning back to Sophie.

"Anyway, you were saying about your cleavage?" Again his gaze was pointedly above her chin, his voice falsely light. Hardison sent Holly a cheeky smile from across the table; she returned it with a wink.

"I was saying I have Mawson right where we need him, the man's a sucker for good legs." Sophie's tone implying Mawson's weakness was a common one.

"Parker, Eliot, anything?" Nathan asked continuing around the table. The thief and the muscle had run surveillance on Snook and Calhoun once they let the 'bat cave' to make sure all the bases were covered and that there would be no surprises.

"Calhoun has a bit of a hooker problem." Parker said looking directly at Holly as she spat her words. "Other than that he's a pig, nothing unusual." Her tone lightened but her eyes still pierced. Holly met her gaze from over her black rimmed glasses, right eyebrow cocked. Eliot glanced between the two before calmly adding his two cents.

"Snook's more mundane – bat cave, home, soul crushing depression."

"Didn't I say he was the submissive?" Holly quipped.

"How's Pycroft doing?" Nathan continued, Eliot shrugged.

"Still in prison, low security, with a bunch of other white collar geeks, he'll be fine."

"Hey, hey, hey, Mr. I can't copy and paste, we geeks are badass." Hardison said with defensive attitude. Eliot looked him the in the eye and barked. Parker didn't even try to stifle her laughter.

"Children." Nathan intoned looking at his brood. "Blink!" He said changing gears. "Report!" Holly stood and walked in front of the screens, calling up a video.

"I've been channeling Big Brother in a disturbing way." She began. "But I can safely say Sophie's got this all sewn up. See," She pressed play, the poor quality feed showed Coxon caress Mawson's neck discretely as she stood beside his chair, he leaned into the touch. It was sexual. "Last week," Holly said, "This week." It was the same action on Coxon's part, but Mawson leaned away, looking annoyed. Holly paused the footage. "See," She circled the area with her hand like the weatherman. "Closed position." She brought up a still frame and pointed to his hilted head and knee. "He's pointing to you Soph, aligning in your direction and" She indicated Coxon's view of the back of Mawson's head, "he's blocking her out. The video continued. "Here he's copying you," She pointed to the identical postures. "It's a subconscious thing – hey look, we're totally in sync. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Holly looked around the room, Nathan had returned to his chair beside Sophie, they were swiveled so they were almost back to back when they leaned, their one arm was on the table, the other draped over the armrest, left leg crossed over right. Parker and Hardison both had their chins on their left palms. Blink smiled and advanced the tape. "He's distracted when she's speaking; his right leg is doing a great William Tell Overture. Sophie cuts him off mid eighth note." His knee did stop bouncing; he was still – statue still. "He leaned forward, he nods – he's captivated, and Coxon knows it." Holly zoomed in on the mark. "She's pissed." Melissa's eyes were narrowed, nostrils flared, her jaw set. "Watch yourself Soph, she'll go cat fight on you if the opportunity presents itself."

"Excellent." Nathan proclaimed standing up. "Okay" he clapped his hand together and rubbed them excitedly, a spark in his blue eye. "Phase Two people." He made his exit as if he was leading the charge. Sophie and Eliot followed him with slightly lower energy; Hardison rounded the table to stand with Holly in front of the TVs. She was smiling facing the door, although she was observing Parker, who was taking her time packing up her stuff.

"He gets sick pleasure out of this, doesn't he?" she commented, looking up at Hardison from over her shoulder.

"It keeps him going, and it bothers him." He confirmed.

"It bothers him? He's not fully stage six yet." She muttered. Hardison didn't comment - it didn't take a quick study to learn Blink was going to have real Rain Man moments.

"That was fairly decent video editing there Raymond."

"Thanks," She turned to face him, "I'm no Leet Sauce, but I'm no Suxxor either." She smiled; Parker ran out of props to dally with and made her exit, glaring at Holly as she went. Holly took another look at Hardison, her smile changing tone.

***

"Oh my God, Nate!" Sophie exclaimed almost before her new office door clicked shut. Her voice was in her upper register – she was shocked and appalled.

"She was -" Sophie dropped to a whisper, "She was _fellating_ him!" A chorus of _What?!_ filled her ear piece. _Like fish?_ Parker asked, not sounding entirely glib. _That's filleting, Parker. __Filleting__._ Eliot sighed, partially amused, slightly disturbed. Sophie could hear Nathan's smirk. Parker's _Ooooh_ was cut off by Hardison. _Ye-ah_ he said, emphasis on the ha. _The other is more of the blow job, or going down, the giving head, the- _

_Hardison!_ A chorus chimed. _What?_ He asked _I wanted to make sure she understood that there's a __big__ difference between the two._

_I'm more interested in why you know so many synonyms for fellatio._ Holly said the situation was rapidly becoming funny. _Um hell-o_ Hardison's attitude was coming out in full force. _I grew up with several teenage boys outside of the suburbs, it wasn't all polite 'fellatio' it was-_

_How many synonyms for fellatio do you know Ho-lly?_ Parker cut in cattily. _Next__ topic! _Nathan said firmly, not amused. There were some chuckles and a cough that sounded oddly like _Prude_ before Holly spoke.

_This is good._ She said changing the direction of the conversation.

_How?_

_Melissa sees Gloria as a threat, she knows Mawson's eye is wondering - she's trying to bring focus back to her. This is saying 'I'll do things she won't'_

"I" _She_ Sophie and Nathan began separate, but ended the same. "_Most certainly __will__not_." More faint laughter, not that Sophie or Nathan heard. They were tuned into the same channel far removed from the conversation as a _with him_ hung unspoken betwixt them. It wasn't the only thing.

_A different desk in a different office, late at night with no need to focus. Nathan's curly head falls back against his chair, lips parted. Red, not black pumps poking out from under the desk._

Sophie's cheeks burned as she starred at her own desk in a flustered, embarrassed horror. Thank God Nathan was only talking in her head. If he could see… his voice ran in her ear.

"Guys. _Guys!_ Can still hear you." She'd missed conversation, the team had undoubtedly been talking about them. Sophie wanted to groan, but couldn't with the earpiece in.

It took Nathan a second to recover from the fantasy he couldn't stop. It wasn't long enough for the people to wonder where his mind went – the gutter, but it seemed to be enough time for younger fellows to gossip.

_They were certainly touchy._ Parker quipped. _Old married couple._ Eliot added. _Is it too late to change my date?_ Hardison asked.

_They had a bet going?!_ He didn't need to know that; as if his relationship with Sophie wasn't hard enough he now had the added pressure of knowing he had four pairs of eyes watching his and Sophie's every move with vested interest.

"Guys." They needed to shut up. "_Guys!_ Can still hear you." He said. Sophie hadn't chimed in yet, he was torn – did he rally want to know what she was thinking?

"Yeah guys – shut up." She finally said, it betrayed nothing. There was grumbling, but business resumed.

_You brought the idea up to him, yes?_ Nathan asked. For a second Sophie's mind was on the other ideas.

"Ah, yes! But he was distracted." She then remembered which idea they were discussing. "He told me to flesh it out and get back to him. How long do you think they'll – it'll take?" She danced around the image burned into her brain.

_Well, it's about a ten to fifteen minute refractory period, your interruption probably set him back five minutes, he should be normal in about twenty minutes._ Holly said authoritatively.

_You would know that._ Parker sneered.

_Yeah, I've read __The Kinsey Report__._ Holly sneered back.

_Girls._ Nathan warned; his head back in the game.

***

"_Mr. Mawson," Sophie said bopping in on the CEO, he was seated at his massive desk._

"_Rod." He corrected, hitch in his voice. Sophie's skills kicked into high gear. She was no mentalist like Holly, but she wasn't blind either, she'd done quite well on her own, grifting across Europe on just her skill and her smile. Mawson was distracted and fidgety. Sophie didn't see an obvious reason, she stepped further into the corner office._

"_Right, Rod." She said, "I just had a thought -"and that's when she saw it, Mawson's distraction. Black heels stuck out from under the footboard of Mawson's desk. Sophie recognized those shoes and she recognized what was going on. _Oh My God_. Sophie was socked and appalled but had to keep it together. _Keep it together Soph, keep it together.

"_I – uh – just had a thought about how we could regain some credibility and good PR by announcing that we're rehiring everybody – everybody, so um, yeah, I'll give you more details – um – yeah." Mawson groaned a little._

"_I'm interested, flesh… flesh it out and get back to m-me."_

"_Will do boss, I'll get on that now and get back to you in a bit." She skedaddled from the room. Skedaddled!_

_***_

"Mr. Mawson?" Sophie spoke tentatively, he was still seated at his desk, but far more focused, the female shoes were gone.

"Gloria, come in, call me Rod." He said, putting his pen down. "What do you have for me?"

"Well," She said lightly, "I fleshed out my rehire idea and I have a plan to pitch to you."

"Right." Mawson said covering admirably. "I'll call Melissa in and we'll hear your pitch." Sophie nodded approaching his desk. He made her want to bathe in bleach, but

_Oh, Nate, the things I do for you._ She murmured.

_I know._ Nathan softly replied.

"Did you say something?" Mawson asked, Sophie swallowed her bile and perched on the edge of his desk, her black high wasted skirt riding up her toned thigh. Mawson noticed.

"Oh, nothing important. I was just thinking about Miss Coxon, I don't know what she does really. I've heard of a merger specialist Coxon."

"That's her." Mawson said, "She's an Architect, we recently merged with Pierce and Alda, She's been great." His enthusiasm was low. Sophie smiled. Mawson hit a button on his desk phone and got Coxon on the line, his gaze stayed on Sophie's lean thigh.

Melissa soon arrived; glaring at Sophie still perched on Mawson's desk. Sophie saw what Holly did.

"You had a pitch?" She said coolly, Sophie gave her a deliberate smile, it didn't get anywhere near her eyes.

"I do." She said, _Bitch_, she thought. "I mentioned to Rod earlier" emphasis on his first name, "that I think I've found a way to restore confidence in our image. If we announce that we're rehiring everyone we can spin it to show a recommitment to the best. We want the most qualified, honest people we can get, even if it means a major housecleaning."

"How are we going to get all of our employees to submit to this, housecleaning's a strong word." Coxon argued civilly, her posture closed and defensive.

"To the employees we can offer salary reevaluations and set a good example by having you two and Mr. Williams, as well as Pierce and Alda go first in the evaluation." Sophie replied with a pointed look.

"U don't see why I need to do it, I'm only here for the transition."

"I think everyone should do it, down to the temps, I'll even do it, this needs to be an unified action for the media to _swallow_ it." Coxon eyes flashed.

"I think it's an excellent idea Gloria, I'll have some memo out tomorrow explaining." Mawson said, Sophie stood.

"Wonderful, I'll draw up my resume and put together the announcement." She smiled at Mawson.

"You have mine and Miss Coxon's resumes at the end of the day if that will help."

"Fabulous." Sophie said, "The end of the day would be splendid. Thank you so much, Rod, for your cooperation." She turned to Coxon and in her cheesiest, most patronizing voice. "And thank you Melissa." Melissa glared at her, holding her gaze. Sophie held the gaze back for several seconds before quirking her brow, she parted her lips and her left thumb swiped at the corner of her mouth. Sophie flounced past her and out of the room.


	6. King Pawn's Game

The Blake Job

* * *

Disclaimer: I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

* * *

Chapter Six: King's Pawn Game

"I can't go with you." Sophie said adjusting Eliot's collar. "For obvious reasons, but I'll be right here." She touched his ear. "And I'm sending Holly – she's my eyes." Eliot nodded.

"I've picked up women before, Sophie." He muttered.

"I'm sure you have." Holly said appearing at Sophie's side. "What'sherface from that one bar was in total aw of your skills." Eliot was quiet, the comeback he didn't have would've died on his tongue anyway. Holly was done up. She was done up well.

The first thing he noticed was her lips, her bow mouth was a deep, glossy plum. For a time he was simply captivated by that, but his gaze soon moved to the rest of her. Her auburn hair was in textured waves that framed her face and provided backdrop from her chandler earrings, the stones matched her lips.

"Parker will lift her phone and send all her information here." Sophie had been going over the plan the whole time, he hadn't noticed until that bombo.

"I am quite capable of getting a woman's number, Okay!" He exclaimed defensively. They seriously thought he had no play.

"We know." Holly said sympathetically, "But we want to make sure we have our asses covered."

"Then you need to change." Nathan quipped from behind them, Holly turned.

"Whatever Da-ad!" She smartly replied. Her dress was more like a slip – black, short, satin with thin straps that slid around her shoulders and a small amount of lace detailing around the hems. She looked… And then he realized she wasn't wearing her glasses. Without those thick rimmed, bohemian, elbow patch glasses Eliot could see her eyes. Her defined and decorated silver eyes.

"_Anyway_" Sophie said pulling his eyes away and smirking. "We want more than her numbers, we want total control of her phone." Sophie finished talking with Eliot and glanced at Holly, _I told you so_ in her eyes.

"_Didn't you used to wear contacts?" Sophie asked as she did Holly's hair like a mother before prom._

"_I still have some; I just honestly prefer my glasses." Holly replied, she'd been staying with Sophie since Nathan brought her on with Leverage Consulting and Associates. Nathan had originally offered his place to her but Sophie claimed 'Girl time' privileges. Nathan had scoffed but the argument was being justified as they spoke._

"_Glasses are a way to hide Holly." Sophie said softly, "I used them for invisible characters."_

"_You're always visible, Sophie." Holly objected, "You're sex on legs." Sophie looked away, Holly took her hand. "He notices you," she said, Sophie gaze remained away. "He __notices__ you."_

"_Let's talk about who notices you." It was Holly's turn to demur. _Eliot_ hung in the air._

"_I didn't intend for this to happen."_

"_No one ever does, life just unspools that way. Now, about those glasses."_

_***_

221B was a bar on Baker Street, a nice bar with dark wood and low ceilings. Between following Snook and Calhoun they put a tail on Coxon. This was her favorite haunt. Eliot arrived separately from Holly and Parker, lest they be seen together. The women took a cab, the drive was one of the longest and quietest ever experienced. Coxon was in the bar when they arrived.

_Alright girls_ Nathan said, _play nice. _He opened a bottle of Merlot as he spoke, he and Sophie would pull the strings from headquarters. _And remember Blink, you can't drink until the thirteenth-_

_The thirty first_ Holly corrected. _And yes, Dad, I know._

"I can't believe you still can't remember her birthday, it's an international holiday for heaven's sake!" Sophie called from the conference room. She was setting up a battered Scrabble board.

_He remembers yours_ Holly said quietly.

"July Tenth." He rattled off without thought. Holly smiled, her point made. She ordered a Shirley Temple.

"I'm the DD." She cooed to the quizzical bartender. A few feet down the bar Melissa Coxon sat, elaborate drink in hand. Eliot bellied up to the bar near Coxon, sending Holly a glance.

_Don't look at me._ She tisked so only the earpieces could hear.

_Where is he?_ Sophie asked taking her glass of wine from Nathan.

_About a foot from her._

_Eliot, don't preface just start a conversation, no excuse me, just speak._ Sophie said, she chose seven tiles, Nathan did the same.

_Parker_ He asked, _Do you have it?_ A beat. _Got it._ She announced.

_That's my girl!_ Hardison exclaimed as Melissa Coxon's phone was served to him on a silver screen. Holly smirked, so did Nathan and Sophie.

"Bourbon – Neat." Eliot ordered beside Coxon, she looked at him from the corner of her eye. _She looked at him. _Holly said.

_Excellent._ Sophie laid out her first word QUEUE. _Eliot give her a three second smile, get it to reach your eyes. Think of something happy. _

"Fifteen points." She gloated to Nathan.

Eliot followed instructions, Coxon turned slightly in her chair. _She's responded_. Holly said. Back at headquarters Nathan put down ME. Four points. Sophie laughed. Scrabble was a competitive sport between them, evolving from origins unknown. The genesis didn't matter; the competition had a strong hold. MAC gave Sophie seven more points.

_Converse! _Sophie commanded, Nathan got eight points with BEAU _And have and accent – we like accents._

"What's your favorite midnight sack?" He asked, southern accent strong. _Nice one._ Sophie said, adding an S to BEAU. _You're learning._

_Stop looking to the left._ Holly hissed.

_Maybe not_.

"Mine?" Coxon asked, disgustingly coy. "That's a funny question."

"I enjoy a little levity now and then," he replied. "Now, about that snack."

_Smooth_ Holly intoned in his ear, Eliot's smile grew true. _She's leaning in._

_Excellent! _Sophie exclaimed laying SLAYER after Nathan's CON, garnering thirteen more points than him. _Remember that drink trick I taught you?_ Eliot's 'mmhum' was directed at Sophie but fit to Coxon's reply of,

"I like things sweet and salty at night." She traced him with her dull eyes.

"About that drink trick," Nathan said watching Sophie as he played GAME. She filled her glass, as if expecting to need it. "Have you ever used that on me?"

"Course not." She said sipping her wine before playing RISE.

"You see you say this but you do that." He said leaning forward.

"Do what?" She asked, sipping again.

"You did it again!" He exclaimed.

"Play, Nate." He gave her a look, she returned with one. COY.

_She's laughing and oooo touching. Look's like our boy's in like Flynn._ Holly commented.

_Parker, is her phone ready?_ Nathan asked still watching Sophie. ROT.

_Already back in that stupid bag._ She confirmed.

_Oh, no thank you – really. No thanks, but no thanks._ Holly said suddenly, almost afraid.

_Parker! Report!_ Sophie said sitting straighter.

_Eliot's stopped smiling._

_Eliot!_ Sophie snapped, _You've got to keep this going – focus!_

_Parker get Blink out of whatever she's in._ Nathan said.

_She's just with a man, _Parker snipped,_ She can surely handle a man._

_Now Parker…_ Nathan said, Sophie was ordering Eliot – the earpieces buzzed.

_Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program._ Holly's voice cut through the din. Nathan' play, COT. The tiff was over.

Sophie made MAT and TOY in a single play. Nathan smiled at the pun Eliot made, Sophie sipped her wine.

"You did it again." He said playing IT. He was bringing up Belgrade, their argument had gone unfinished. Eliot had things under control for the time being. She watched Nathan nick some tiles.

"What is life if not a game?" She asked laying RAT. He looked at her. "You're getting at my assertion that there is a degree of manipulation in relationships – all relationships. And I asked what is life if not a game?" Sophie said rolling the stem of her wine glass between her slim fingers and thumb. "Keep in mind I just saw you lift those tiles." She tilted her glass to QUEER, Nathan's play. He sat back, blue eyes meeting brown.

"What is life if not a game?" He said slowly, thinking. Along with her fierce Scrabble skills, Sophie could make him think. Really think. He'd say he loved that but the emotion frightened him. Sophie played Die while she waited for a reply.

"If life is not a game then it is a struggle – like _Faust. _In Faust the devil is struggling against the oppression of God as he endeavors to garner as many souls as he can. Life is a struggle if it is not a game." Sophie raised her glass.

"Well played." She said, "But I know you don't buy it." Nathan played AT, Sophie laid PIXEL, she met his eye.

"I saw that." Sophie smiled, passing a tile back and forth through her knuckles. For a moment they were silent only the buzz of their earpieces between them as Nathan contemplated the board. He finally laid OX for nine points.

"You've manipulated me just as much as I have you." She finally said.

"Oh?" he replied eyebrow going up.

"I'm here aren't I? She said raising her glass to the room. "I became a citizen."

"Because of me." Nathan said quietly, Sophie nodded holding his eye and tilting her closely guarded emotional hand slightly.

"You manipulated me as much as I have you." She said again.

The moment was ruined by _SUCCESS!_

_I hope you were outside before you did that. _Nathan said dryly, leader persona taking over. Sophie took her Scrabble turn PORN.

_He was_ Holly confirmed. _LS should get the pictures any second._

_Did you just walk her to her car or…_ Sophie prompted.

_She gave me tongue. _Eliot said. _I did this all by myself by the way. I told you I didn't need your help._

_He just needed his wingman Jack Daniels. _Hardison butted in.

_More like Jose Cuervo. _Holly snickered.

_Who's side are you on anyway?_ Eliot snapped.

_What?!_ Sophie squawked trying to make since of it all.

_Ya see, while you two were talking about Frost-_

_Faust_. Nathan corrected.

_Whatever._ Hardison said, _While you two were having your little moment Raymond was giving a play by play and Eliot was putting on the Shlitz._

_Shut up Hardison._ Eliot snapped. _I'm going to go rinse my mouth out with bleach._ The group laughed at his expense. Sophie and Nathan finished their game and their wine.

***

Outside the bar Holly turned to Parker.

"I know we don't get along but I want to thank you for getting me out of that spot back there."

"_Holly, Holly, Holly!" Parker said grabbing her arm, she wasn't any good at acting, that was Sophie's job but she was forced to bail the young whore out. The things she did for Nate. "Nate just told me to get you out of here." The guy soliciting Holly looked at her._

"_Excuse you." He said. _Think, Parker, think._ She told herself._

"_Morty just died!" Parker exclaimed, not for effect but because it was the first idea she had._

"_Morty?" The creeper asked._

"_Our dog" "Our grandfather." The girls chimed before looking at each other._

"_Huh?" The guy said, Parker just pulled Holly away._

"_Our dog?"_

"It was creative." Holly said.

"Nate told me to." Parker said shifting on her high heels.

"I know." Holly said, "And I think I know why you don't like me."

"What are you psycho?" Parker spat flustered. Holly calmly removed her ear bud, removing the others from her conversation.

"Psychic."

"Whatever."

"I'm not psychic, I'm a mentalist."

"Oh, so you're mental." Holly chuckled.

"No. Well, maybe, but I'm also an observer. I see more than the average person and I see why we don't get along – why you don't get along with me."

"Oh really." Parker said crossing her arms over her chest, standing athletically.

"I'm not the one he wants."


	7. The Fischer Endgame

The Blake Job

* * *

Disclaimer: I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

* * *

Chapter Seven: The Fischer Endgame

"I'm not the one he wants." Parker ripped the ear bud from her ear.

"What?" She hissed.

"Hardison." Holly said still utterly calm. "You think he'd attracted to me – he's not." Parker stared, blue eyes blazing.

"But all week you two have just laughed and laughed." She objected waving her arms around.

"That doesn't mean he finds me desirable, it means he finds me funny."

"He gave you a nickname – I don't have a nickname."

"You don't have a nickname because he's attracted to you. He wants you." Parker didn't get it, Holly took a step closer to the taller blond. "Parker, I am like a sister to Hardison, that's why I'm Raymond and he's Leet Sauce, its siblingesque banter. I speak fluent geek – we connected, we understand each other and we see each other in completely asexual terms. He is no more interested in me than he is Cat 5 Cables. But you – you he sees completely differently. Not asexually, but allsexually. You're what he wants." Parker blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." Parker smiled, Holly returned it. They hailed a cab.

***

"Big night last night?" Sophie asked innocently of Melissa the next morning before the standard morning meeting. Bleary eyed she glared.

"No, did you have one Glo-ria?"

"Me? No, I had a very quiet night at home, playing Scrabble with an old friend." In the end she had beaten Nathan by fifty points, a fact she wasn't going to let him forget for a long time.

"Good morning." Mawson said beginning the meeting.

Grudgingly Coxon had handed over her resume to Sophie, under the watchful and lustful eye of Mawson. It had then been a matter of time before; Sophie could strike the death blow. She had filled the time by rereading _Faust_. After a few hours of 'research' it was time."

"Mr. Mawson." Sophie said, checking under his desk as she entered. They were alone. He gave her a look,

"Gloria." He said correcting.

"Rod." She sighed, he perked. "Do you have a moment?"

"Certainly, Gloria." He said giving her outfit, a black wrap dress, a once over. "What can I do for you?" Sophie approached.

"I was looking over yours and Ms. Coxon's resume – yours was quite impressive by the way." She gave him a look that got his pupils to dilate, "And I noticed something." She took out a folder and gave him a reach around as she laid it before him.

"I had been vaguely familiar with Ms. Coxon's name, but I found that I really knew her jobs." She opened the file. "Ten of the last twelve mergers she's designed had some sort of embezzlement trouble during the transition." The page she showed him hat the ten troubled companies highlighted, making the page almost entirely yellow. "She's got just wretched luck, doesn't she?" Sophie commented lightly. Mawson looked from the page to her. His cell phone rang. Sophie had to turn away to hid her smirk.

"Perfect timing Hardison." She whispered.

"Ah, Gloria," Mawson said strained. "That was something pressing." Namely Melissa Coxon pressing her hand to Eliot's crotch as she drunkenly kissed him for the benefit of the camera. "Can we discuss this issue after I fix this other?" Sophie smiled.

"Take your time." She left, each wiggle of her hips another nail in Coxon's coffin.

The sound of Mawson's explosion was drowned out by the sirens of the FBI coming to get both Mawson and Coxon. Sophie smiled and tucked her copy of _Faust_ into her bag. She turned out her light leaving no trace of Gloria Scott behind. She walked out of Mawson and Williams and straight into the front seat of Nathan's Tulsa Roadster. They drove off as the FBI drove up.


	8. Something to Talk About

The Blake Job

* * *

Disclaimer: I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Something to Talk About

"It's gone!" Snook screamed staring at the computer screen. "It's all gone!" Calhoun came running.

"What?!" they stared at their empty accounts. Their empty, empty Swiss Bank Accounts. The men looked at each other.

"COX – ON!"

"_Follow the money. Follow the money. Who's got the money?" Hardison murmured as he siphoned money from Snook and Calhoun and dumped it in Coxon's account, all the while leaving big red flags along the way. Even the most incompetent FBI agent could follow this trail. He couldn't have been more obvious if he'd emailed the Fed._

"She ripped us off! The bitch stole our money!" Calhoun raged. True to form Snook was more reserved.

"She won't get away with this." He said. "We can go to the FBI, we can go to the Feds, the whistleblowers don't get in trouble." Oh the naïveté.

***

**CEO Mawson Charged in Embezzlement Case **Every single paper was covering 'The Most Elaborate Fraud since ENRON', but Nathan's favorite story was the one detailing Mawson's illicit involvement with the con artist. It painted a beautiful image of his much deserved fall. He looked at the headline again and smiled.

"Of all the headlines in all the papers in all the world, that one makes you smile. No warm fuzzies for freeing an innocent man?" Holly leaned against his office door jam watching him over her glasses.

"Proving Pycroft's innocents was part of the job. This," he nodded to the headline, "is an added bonus."

"A bonus because he was a dirty old man, or a bonus because he was a dirty old man who hit on Sophie?" She gave him a look when he tried to speak. "Don't bother lying – you're good, but I'm better." She said. Nathan closed his mouth and nodded slightly.

"You're right." He said.

"Always am." She replied. There was a pause. Nathan took her in, she wore a red sweater with decorative appliquéd flowers in shades of red and pink, her high heels were equally as decorative.

"Going out?" he asked, she nodded.

"With Sophie. I, uh," She licked her lips, "I fly back tomorrow."

"When?" He asked.

"Early."

"I'll take you to the airport."

"Pour le vieux bien du tempo?" she asked.  
"Oui. For old times sake." He replied. Holly smiled.

"I'd like that."

"See you tomorrow." She waved a little and left. Nathan watched her go before heading into the conference room, crossword in one hand, coffee in the other. He put his feet up and turned on CNN, there was something magic about six plasma screens of Wolfe Blitzer.

"Did you hear about this story out of Chicago?" One of the random senior correspondents asked Wolfe. "The guy who was just released after being falsely imprisoned for the M&W embezzlement took his compensation and bought up Mawson and Williams' sagging stock! His cash infusion boosted confidence, stock prices are soaring." Nathan smiled and began his puzzle.

"We'll go over to Jack Cafferty with the Cafferty File, here in the Situation Room." Blitzer segwayed. _Hero (11)_. A hero in eleven letters. WHITE KNIGHT.

***

"_Flight 257 to Minneapolis/ St. Paul, now boarding, flight 257 to Minneapolis/ St. Paul."_

"_That's you." Nathan said solemnly. _

"_Je sais." Holly replied, remembering the last time they were in the airport together. Sophie took Nathan's arm and sighed._

"_It was good to see you again Holly." She said, Holly hugged them both._

"_Good to see you too." She said. "I'll call you when I land."_

"_You have my number?" Nathan asked, Holly tapped her left temple, smirking._

"_Don't worry Nathan," She said, "I've got them." Nathan and Sophie watched her turn and slowly walk away._

_***_

"It was good to see her again, wasn't it?" Sophie commented that evening, she and Nathan had seen Holly off that morning. They'd then experienced the closing performance of The Life and Times of Henry the Eighth. Sophie had been better, but it might have been because Nathan had brought _The Tribune_, rereading his favorite article; **CEO Mawson Charged in Embezzlement Case**.

To celebrate they were at Sophie's favorite Italian restaurant, _Brava Cucina_.

"Blink?" Nathan asked, "Yes, yes it was." She'd been a damn good resource to the case as well as an old friend.

"I hadn't seen her since the… funeral."

"_Bye, Bud." Holly said quietly, placing a white knight in Sam Ford's small coffin. She wiped her eyes and took her seat in the back of the church after sending a small, sad smile to Nathan seated in the front, next to Maggie, Sam's mother. Holly sat beside Sophie, neither one speaking. They were there for Sam, they were there for Nate, they weren't there for each other._

"I hadn't either, she sent me a birthday card last year, but I hadn't really conversed with her."

"We'd call every few months; she's come a long way since Beaumont – sur – Mer." Sophie said wistfully remembering.

"We all have." Nathan said raising a glass. Sophie joined him. They ate.

"She helped a lot with the job." Sophie observed, he met her eye.

"She and Hardison got on like Chocolate and Peanut Butter." Nathan added.

"And Eliot…" No further words were needed.

"Did Parker ever warm to her?"

"Apparently there was a misunderstanding."

"Over Hardison?" Nathan smirked, Sophie smiled.

"She didn't say it outright, but… it's been resolved."

"Excellent." Nathan said with a hesitant look in the direction of his phone. "Should I call her? Should we call her?" Sophie leaned forward.

"Let's do this." She said. Nathan punched her speed dial.

"Digame." Holly greeted her voice distant because of his speaker.

"Hi Blink." Nathan said leaning into his phone which sat between him and Sophie on the table.

"Oh my God, did I forget something?" she asked, Sophie laughed and leaned in as well, their temples touched.

"You of all people are least likely to forget something, Holly."

"True," Holly said, "Out to dinner?"

"Maybe." Sophie and Nathan exchanged looks.

"Definitely." The phone said. "You're far away sounding – I'm on speaker phone. There's music in the background, you two are speaking softly – Restaurant. No Leet comments – no Leet Sauce. So, yes – out to dinner." Nathan smiled – caught.

"Right." He admitted "You're very good; you can prove that you're a detective."

"I dabble." She joked.

"Would you like to make it more than a hobby?"

"What are you suggesting?" She knew. She knew everything.

"We have an extra office." Sophie said.

"Would you like to fill it?" Nathan asked, "As a consultant for Leverage Consulting and Associates."

"Silly question." She said. Nathan and Sophie exchanged looks once again. "I'll be there in two weeks." They smiled, laughing a little.

"Wonderful." Nathan said, "Can't wait to see you again."

"We're not the only ones," Sophie added cheekily.

"Oh-Kay." Holly said, "I'm going to let you two get back to you date. See you in two weeks."

"Bye Blink."

"Bye Holly."

"Bye Guys." They rang off; Holly smiling in the Twin Cities, a few hours away Nathan and Sophie finished their meal.

* * *

_Pour le vieux bien du tempo:_ For Old Times sake  
_Je sais:_ I know


	9. The End

The Blake Job

* * *

Disclaimer: I neither own nor am associated with Leverage – the Show or the Physics applications.

* * *

Chapter Nine: The End

"Where's Nate and Sophie?" Eliot asked, it was the first Friday of the month, the unofficial team bonding night typically someone would order pizza, someone else bring beer. Sophie and Nathan would devolve into a Scrabble Game as Parker and Hardison nitpicking apart heist movies. Eliot enjoyed sitting back with a beer and watching his dysfunctional almost family play and laugh. But tonight the older members of the team, the parental figures were not there. Hardison put _Guitar Hero World Tour_ into his Wii.

"They're picking Raymond up at the airport and moving her into her apartment. We're doing a rain check on _The Italian Job_." Parker plopped down next to Hardison, very close to Hardison, and took the Guitar from him.

"Holly's coming back?" Eliot asked, he had no idea she'd ever be back, he'd almost resigned himself to that fact.

"Yeah, didn't you notice the game/ crap room got cleaned out and a little plaque put on the door saying _Holly Blake, Consultant_?"

"She has an office?" _How did he miss that?_ Hardison and Parker turned around to look at him.

"You see," Parker said.

"But you don't observe." Hardison finished.

"Cute." Eliot growled waving a hand between the pair. "You practice that?" They laughed.

"Raymond quote." Hardison shrugged.

"Why do you call her that?" Eliot asked; it was a little weird.

"She's my Rain Man, I'm her Leet Sauce." Hardison said, Parker gave him a look. "What?! The girl is my sista!" Eliot looked between the two, Parker looked like he was about to bring something up.

"When did her flight get in?" Parker shrugged.

"Four, four thirty." Eliot looked at his watch, it was 7:46.

"Were Nate and Sophie planning on spending the whole night with her?" Hardison and Parker turned back to look at him. It was the biggest public secret that Sophie and Nate had a standing weekend date. They naively thought the team didn't know.

***

The first knocks matched perfectly the bass of Springsteen's _Born to Run,_ the second rapping fell on the off beat. These were what Holly herd. She weaved her way though the labyrinth of boxes to open her new front door curiously. Nathan and Sophie had left about an hour ago – once they had seen that her electronics worked, her refrigerator was filled, and her closet was put together. She could sleep in the bathtub for want of a bed and Sophie wouldn't care so long as the closet was organized properly.

After they made sure she was settled in Nathan and Sophie had left her to 'unpack'. Holly smiled at them when they said that, Nathan's broad hand on the small of Sophie's back. They were so cute when they lied.

Holly checked the peephole, standing on bare tiptoes, other than her old friends no one knew her new address, four floors below Leverage C&A. It was like the Bat cave and Wayne Manor, except instead of below her secret job was above. Through the hole she saw a distorted Eliot Spencer nervously standing in the hall. The sight brought a sound of surprise from her lips. She opened the door.

"Eliot." She said surprised, taking in his leather jacket, wind abused hair, and coffee cup in strong broad hand. He looked her over as well; she shivered from the cold still hanging about him. She was in a navy sweatshirt COLLEGE across the front and jeans, her feet were small and bare.

"You didn't say you were moving." He said.

"I didn't know I was until two weeks ago." She replied.

"Consulting?" he asked, looking for conversation.

"What else would you call it?" She stepped back from the door. "Come in." She said. "Pardon the mess, but I just got in today." Impulse sized Eliot and he stepped over her threshold and right to her, right hand reaching, seeking. He pulled her to him, fingers lacing through her hair, and kissed her. As two pairs of lips collided so did two worlds, sparks flew. Once the show was over he pulled back. Holly's glasses were skewed and slightly fogged. He smiled and lifted the surprisingly unspilled cup.

"I brought you that coffee I owe you." He said smiling.

* * *

The End

_Well, what'd ya think?_


End file.
